Search results for "folding"
showing 10 items of 330 documents
Paraoxonase-2 Reduces Oxidative Stress in Vascular Cells and Decreases Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress–Induced Caspase Activation
2007
Background— In the vascular system, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produce oxidative stress and predispose to the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore, it is important to understand the systems producing and those scavenging vascular ROS. Here, we analyzed the ROS-reducing capability of paraoxonase-2 (PON2) in different vascular cells and its involvement in the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway known as the unfolded protein response. Methods and Results— Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting revealed that PON2 is equally expressed in vascular cells and appears in 2 distinct glycosylated isoforms. By determining intracellular ROS, we…
Nucleation and Growth of CaCO3 Mediated by the Egg-White Protein Ovalbumin: A Time-Resolved in situ Study Using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
2008
Mineralization of calcium carbonate in aqueous solutions starting from its initiation was studied by time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). SANS revealed that homogeneous crystallization of CaCO 3 involves an initial formation of thin plate-shaped nuclei which subsequently reassemble to 3-dimensional particles, first of fractal and finally of compact structure. The presence of the egg-white protein ovalbumin leads to a different progression of mineralization through several stages; the first step represents amorphous CaCO 3, whereas the other phases are crystalline. The formation and dissolution of the amorphous phase is accompanied by Ca (2+)-mediated unfolding and cross-link…
Dithiothreitol Treatment of Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells Reversibly Blocks Export from the Endoplasmic Reticulum but Does Not Affect Vectorial Tar…
1995
Addition of dithiothreitol (DTT) to the culture medium of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells blocks transport of newly synthesized gp80 (clusterin, apolipoprotein J), a soluble marker protein for apical exocytosis in this epithelial cell line. In cells treated with DTT during pulse labeling, gp80 is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. After removal of the reducing agent, gp80 is posttranslationally oxidized and secreted at the apical surface of MDCK cell monolayers. This demonstrates that when folded and oxidized posttranslationally, gp80 can acquire a conformation that exhibits sorting signals for vectorial targeting. In the continuous presence of DTT, the transepithelial electrical…
Proteins' Knotty Problems
2018
Abstract Knots in proteins are increasingly being recognized as an important structural concept, and the folding of these peculiar structures still poses considerable challenges. From a functional point of view, most protein knots discovered so far are either enzymes or DNA-binding proteins. Our comprehensive topological analysis of the Protein Data Bank reveals several novel structures including knotted mitochondrial proteins and the most deeply embedded protein knot discovered so far. For the latter, we propose a novel folding pathway based on the idea that a loose knot forms at a terminus and slides to its native position. For the mitochondrial proteins, we discuss the folding problem fr…
The membrane proximal cytokine receptor domain of the human interleukin-6 receptor is sufficient for ligand binding but not for gp130 association.
1998
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) belongs to the family of the "four-helix bundle" cytokines. The extracellular parts of their receptors consist of several Ig- and fibronectin type III-like domains. Characteristic of these receptors is a cytokine-binding module consisting of two such fibronectin domains defined by a set of four conserved cysteines and a tryptophan-serine-X-tryptophan-serine (WSXWS) sequence motif. On target cells, IL-6 binds to a specific IL-6 receptor (IL-6R), and the complex of IL-6.IL-6R associates with the signal transducing protein gp130. The IL-6R consists of three extracellular domains. The NH2-terminal Ig-like domain is not needed for ligand binding and signal initiation. Here w…
Structural analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi periplasmic lipoprotein BB0365 involved in Lyme disease infection.
2019
The periplasmic lipoprotein BB0365 of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi is expressed throughout mammalian infection and is essential for all phases of Lyme disease infection; its function, however, remains unknown. In the current study, our structural analysis of BB0365 revealed the same structural fold as that found in the NqrC and RnfG subunits of the NADH:quinone and ferredoxin:NAD+ sodium-translocating oxidoreductase complexes, which points to a potential role for BB0365 as a component of the sodium pump. Additionally, BB0365 coordinated Zn2+ by the His51, His55, His140 residues, and the Zn2+ -binding site indicates that BB0365 could act as a potential metalloenzyme; therefore…
Template-Directed Protein Folding into a Metastable State of Increased Activity
1995
The principal objective of this work was to distinguish between kinetic and thermodynamic reaction control in protein folding. The deleterious effects of a specific mutation on spontaneous refolding competence were analyzed for this purpose. A Bowman-Birk-type proteinase inhibitor of trypsin and chymotrypsin was selected as a double-headed model protein to facilitate the detection of functional irregularities by the use of functional assays. The parent protein spontaneously folds into a single, fully active and thermodynamically stable state in a redox buffer after reduction/denaturation. By contrast, the properties of a P'1Ser--Pro variant in the trypsin-reactive subdomain differ before an…
The human brain hexacoordinated neuroglobin three-dimensional structure
2004
Neuroglobin, mainly expressed in vertebrate brain and retina, is a recently identified member of the globin superfamily. Augmenting O2 supply, neuroglobin promotes survival of neurons upon hypoxic injury, potentially limiting brain damage. In the absence of exogenous ligands, neuroglobin displays a six-coordinated heme. O2 and CO bind to the heme-iron, displacing the endogenous HisE7 heme distal ligand. Hexacoordinated human neuroglobin displays a classical globin fold, adapted to host the reversible bis-histidyl heme complex, and an elongated protein matrix cavity, held to facilitate O2 diffusion to the heme. The structure of neuroglobin suggests that the classical globin fold is endowed w…
Structures and folding pathways of topologically knotted proteins
2010
In the last decade, a new class of proteins has emerged that contain a topological knot in their backbone. Although these structures are rare, they nevertheless challenge our understanding of protein folding. In this review, we provide a short overview of topologically knotted proteins with an emphasis on newly discovered structures. We discuss the current knowledge in the field, including recent developments in both experimental and computational studies that have shed light on how these intricate structures fold.
Influence of hydrophobic matching on association of model transmembrane fragments containing a minimised glycophorin A dimerisation motif
2005
AbstractThe principles that govern the folding and packing of membrane proteins are still not completely understood. In the present work, we have revisited the glycophorin A (GpA) dimerisation motif that mediates transmembrane (TM) helix association, one of the best-suited models of membrane protein oligomerisation. By using artificial polyleucine TM segments we have demonstrated in this study that a pattern of only five amino acids (GVxxGVxxT) promotes specific dimerisation. Further, we have used this minimised GpA motif to assess the influence of hydrophobic matching on the TM helix packing process in detergent micelles and found that this factor modulates helix–helix association and/or d…